As we near the end of 2025, the majority of South Africans are counting down the days to a well-deserved holiday. Employers, on the other hand, are on the lookout for new team members who have the right skills and aptitudes to help them take their businesses to the next level. However, in today’s competitive market, just doing background checks is not enough to find the right person for the job. The best hiring strategies make use of background checks coupled with psychometric testing to validate credentials. By integrating psychometric insights into the recruitment process, employers gain a clear view of not only the candidate’s skills but their integrity as well.
“While background screening can verify what a candidate has done, psychometric assessments uncover who they are, how well they will fit, and how well they will perform within an organisation,” says Jenifer Barkhuizen, Head of Marketing at Managed Integrity Evaluation (MIE), a business unit of Mettus. “Through the use of psychometric assessments, employers have peace of mind in knowing that they are protected from the risks associated with hiring unqualified or dishonest individuals. This reduces legal and financial implications and maintains workplace safety by identifying potential risks before they set foot into the building.”
Unlike a CV, psychometric testing provides a data-driven view of a candidate’s true capabilities. When properly designed and role-specific, these assessments can reveal cognitive and problem-solving abilities, as well as personality traits that cannot be measured using traditional methods. When combined with background checks, these assessments give employers an objective, evidence-based understanding of a candidate and reveal genuine capability, cultural fit, and leadership potential.
How MIE talent assessments assist employers
As a leading solutions provider, MIE’s talent assessment solutions aid recruiters in finding the ideal candidate. They include built-in validity checks to ensure results are authentic and reliable, making manipulation highly unlikely. When properly validated, these assessments minimise bias and support fair, consistent, and equitable hiring decisions.
“As MIE, we have seen an 81% year-on-year increase in competency assessments, while integrity assessments have grown by as much as 84%. These assessments deep dive into who the person is, how they make decisions, and the types of decisions they make when faced with a challenge,” adds Barkhuizen.
However, for employers utilising such tools, Barkhuizen notes that there are challenges to ensure accurate measurements. Here, skewed results can arise from time pressures, unclear testing objectives, poor interpretation, or the use of assessments that are not scientifically validated. It is therefore important to remember that psychometric assessments should be used to complement rather than replace human judgment.
To ensure fairness, compliance, and data protection throughout its assessment process, all MIE tests are standardised, job-relevant, and designed to be accessible to all candidates. The company prioritises data privacy, and only collects necessary data with consent, which is then stored securely with strict access controls.
“As the workplace continues to evolve, hiring the right person has never been more complex or more critical. The future of recruitment must combine human insight with objective data for smarter, fairer hiring decisions. Only then can we ensure that the right candidate receives the right role, and ultimately, helps drive business success,” concludes Barkhuizen.
